Jordan's birthday - finally

Okay - so I feel the best way to do this catching up is from the beginning! There is a lot of catching up to do and Jordan's birthday was pretty much when we fell off the face of the blogspot planet so it's only natural to pick up there. Upcoming posts will go in this order...Madison's birthday, basement remodel shots, Easter and then we should be back on track...we hope. So what's going on in our lives right now? What's not would probably be a quicker topic to get through. But - we cannot complain. Work's going great for both Justin and I, Jordan's doing wonderful in school, Tanner's two months away from living with us again (YAY!!!), and Madison is really working hard to stop sucking her thumb. It is an extremely tough habit for her to break and we are all trying hard to be supportive rather than negative & detrimental. Well, enough for now. Hope this finds everyone well.

Some Jordan party pics

Pictures from Jordan's bday weekend. We had a good time with everyone home. It was crowded but totally worth it!

Argh - Picture/Internet Issues

Okay - so I know that I haven't posted for a while - however we have been having internet issues as of late and I have been unable to add photos so therefore I haven't posted. Who wants to just read and not see? Not me! Anyway - I have some great shots of Jordan's birthday weekend. We had a blast. Julie & Jennifer came with Hailey & Brooke and my folks and Danielle. We had a full house but loved every minute of it! We found out that Julie is a freaking cheater at the dice game Greed (didn't know it was possible - but she managed it)- that Jen can function off of little to no sleep (leaning more towards the no sleep side) - that our house does accomodate quite a crew and that 5 little 6 year old girls together in one location are dang loud!!!

On a different note - we have really amped up the basement completion. Justin just got our fireplace ordered yesterday and it should be in Missoula ready for pick-up next Wednesday. He has completed the framing and electrical and has insulated all the exterior walls. We have the plumber coming in early next week followed by the insulation crew for the cieling next weekend. The sheetrockers will be there the following week followed by the taper. You get the picture...we are getting so excited to see rapid progress after three years of snail-paced progress...we can't wait to banish the kids to the basement when they're getting on our last nerves.... :)

Well- in completion - as soon as I get this internet dealy figured out - I will get you the pics from Jordan's bday weekend. We're having Maddie's this weekend so will probably have a lot of catching up to do!

Kauai Trip

Sorry to all for not posting sooner. This last week was a little hectic trying to get back into the swing of life and reality! It was tough - let me tell you. First off - Justin and I had the time of our lives. I can honestly not remember having a better time than when we were on the best island of Hawaii. We came home relaxed, happy and with a lifetime's worth of memories! We also remembered the reason why we married each other! Believe it or not - it wasn't because we thought we'd be great parents - it was because we actually LIKED each other and enjoyed each other's company. That probably was the best part of the trip.

This was our favorite part of the trip

Justin's fish - 65 lb Amber Jack

Lexie's fish - 15 lb Amber Jack

All about us....

More trip highlights

Some of our favorite scenery pictures of Kauai. Our hotel was awesome as well as all the spectacular views. We just got in the car and went. It was great!

Hawaii Itinerary....

Just wanted to share our Hawaii Itinerary:

Saturday - leave at 6:56am from GF. Fly into Denver then straight to Lihue, Kauai. Arrival : 4:20pm HST
Sunday - Free day - explore our Marriott resort, spend some time at the beach & watch the Superbowl. LYS dinner w/ all invited guests.
Monday - Deep Sea Fishing!!! check out the website http://www.deepseafishingkauai.com/, Justin and I also host dinner at JJ's Broiler for 8 guests.
Tuesday - Free Day - either exploring the Waimea Canyon or snorkeling, then Justin & I will host dinner at Kukui's for 12 guests.
Wednesday - Free Day - snorkeling, exploring, beach time, then we host dinner at Duke's for 14 guests!
Thursday - Free Day - back country tubing trip booked. check out the website! http://www.kauaibackcountry.com/ Dinner on our own - we hope to catch a Luau or however you spell it...
Friday - Justin is golfing Kauai Lagoons Golf Course, me? Getting beach/pool time. Dinner on our own - leave Kauai at 9:56pm and arrive in LA at 4:55am
Saturday - Fly from LA to Denver then from Denver to Great Falls. Arrive at 1:20pm...

***I promise to share experience and pictures upon returning. We are taking Zeke the Zebra from Jordan's classroom. He is a Zoo-Phonics animal who has always wanted to see Hawaii so we offered to stow him away in our suitcase and take pictures of him at our favorite sights. Jordan can then share Zeke's/mommy & daddy's experience with the class and Miss Thunstrom can use the experience as a lesson plan***

Bored? Us? NEVER!

Just some pics of the girls with daddy & dancing. Jordan is doing her version of break dancing and Madison is spinning at the speed of about Mock 10...Both girls love to crank up the tunes and sing along & dance. Justin and I were trying to teach them the Men in Black dance last night. Our next goal is to teach them Michael Jackson's "Thriller"...wish us luck! :)

Jordan wanted to make the most of the loads of snow we got. She made tracks in just about every spot on the lawn - got a kick out of the icicles. We also taught her how to make snow angels. She didn't immediately get the concept...we told her to wave her arms above her head and so she stuck straight up in the air and waved instead of putting them in the snow....great times....Madison was napping but we have her brown snowpants ready to go for this weekend!

Little bit of this - Little bit of that....

Alright - we just got back from watching The Tooth Fairy. We were able to spring Tanner from his mom's and took him as well. The girls didn't do too bad at the movie. Maddie got a little restless and wanted to dance in the aisle, but other than that....
I have put another collage together to show you some of what has been going on during the weekends at the Belotes. Justin has been plugging away on the basement. It's a slow go as it's being done $100 at a time - or rather a gift card at a time (thanks mom & dad! :) He is also spending some father-son time with Tanner building a model since Tanner is scared of power tools to Justin's utter dismay so they can't use basement time to bond. What about me? Somebody has to take the pictures and post the blog so you will all have to be content with my photography and witty narrative. Until next time...

Official Jr. Explorers!

On Sunday - gma, gpa and our family all trekked to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center to subject ourselves to some local culture. Apparently the adults were the only un-cultured novices on this trip as each of the kids exclaimed they had been there hundreds of times - whether that was an exaggeration or not...-during their hundreds of visits they never once were given the opportunity to become Jr. Explorers. But this time was different...here's the story. On Sunday afternoon 4 fearless people set off on a voyage and journey that would change their lives. Gma, Tanner, Jordan and Maddie went to the center as mere citizens and left as Jr. Explorers. No lies - they each received honest to goodness Jr. Explorer badges. Other highlights of our little excursion depicted in the pictures below were that Jordan got in a little flirting, the kids all got excerise pulling boats around, they were also able to ward off the chill over an ancient fire, and the whole Belote family was able to showcase their diversity as Indians, French Traders, and little girls in white blousy shirts.... All in all - we had a terrific time and you may now consider us "cultured"

Justin Continued....

So - Justin's new job has started with a bang! He called me yesterday from the Post Office asking questions like where I was born and what date our wedding was.... I admit the where was I born question was valid as I was randomly born in Sidney - however - our Wedding Date? Anyway - I am getting off track. The reason for the 20 questions was because he was told he needs to get his passport for international travel. Now at this point - that means Canada - however, I am holding my breath for a lumber convention in Italy or Ireland....Justin told me if I hold my breath for that - I am likely to pass out - but a girl can always hope. He is also on his way to Bozeman to negotiate with a lumber store down there over pricing, relationship, wood I suppose and much more. Nothing like jumping right in! He was pretty excited over his first true "business trip" though and was pouring over pricing sheets last night at home. It is fun to see him so wrapped up and serious in what he is doing. Not much other news really except that we are springing Tanner from his mom's on Saturday to take him and the girls to "The Tooth Fairy". We have all spent moments laughing at the previews so thought we would check it out! Will post more later with pictures from our Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center experience...it's important stuff as we have 4 new Jr. Explorers...Tanner, Jordan, Maddie & Gma Sue!

Justin's the Man

We got good news yesterday! Justin has been promoted! He is now managing the Engineered Wood Product Line and Department at Lumber Yard Supply. I couldn't be more proud of my husband and the place he's carved out for himself in the business world. If you're reading this blog - make sure you tell him Congrats!

Not much going on...

Okay - First and foremost, our Hawaii trip is 24 days away and I couldn't be more excited. We just got our iternerary and Justin was cracking up becuase I had to get on United.com and see where our seat numbers fit into the scheme of the plane. I also took the opportunity once found to call the window seat. The only other thing to report is that I am gearing up for birthday season. Jordan's is 2/26 & Madison's is 3/16. I just got the cabbage patch kid I ordered for Jordan's bday yesterday and I have made an outfit for it already. For those of you who know me well - which at this point would be ME as I am the only one following my blog - you would realize what an accomplishment that was. I hope you enjoy the shots of my brilliant feat. Madison's baby Bonita was kind enough to model the outfit... I have material for outfit #2 and only need to find my sewing motivation....this weekend perhaps? Maybe more pics to follow on Sunday! :)

Let's give this thing a try

Okay - Welcome to my family blog! Both my sister's-in-law regularly post on their blogs and I am so happy to constantly have updates on my nieces so I thought - what the heck. Mom would LOVE this! So - my first post is basically going to be a quick introduction to my family. We consist of two males and three females. Justin - Dad and Tanner - son make up the minority while Lexie - Mom, Jordan - daughter, and Madison - smallest of them all make up the majority. Our family dynamics are as follows: Live happy - laugh often. We are probably the goofiest, loudest, and most boisterously happy family you'll find out there and we are proud of it. There is never a lack of conversation or quiet moment in our home - in fact rare moments like that make dad and I VERY nervous. I hope you enjoy this blog and I promise to TRY to keep it updated...I also want you to observe the tropical lay-out. That is in celebration of mine and Justin's upcoming Hawaii trip! So excited....ALOHA.

Some of my favorites & Highlights of 2009

Mom and the girls - Mommy time!

Jordan and Dad!

Jordan's first day of Kindergarten!

One of my favorite Maddie pics

This pic never gets old!

Our first "family vacation" to Spokane